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let those without sin…

The religious scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Jesus, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. The law gives orders to stone such a person. What do you say?”

Looking at the woman and considering the words of the religious leaders, Jesus looked at the woman and said, “How troubling.” He then picked up the first stone and threw it at her.

If you have ever read John 8 you know that is not what happened.

Instead, Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When the religious scholars kept questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Later Jesus told the religious scholars, “You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.”

This story could just as easily be written today as it was two millennia ago. The news headlines and Twitter world have been ablaze as a couple of Christian leaders who believe they are the arbiters of God’s judgment against the evil-doers and “heretics” of the world.

In a recent flap ordained Southern Baptist minister and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee commented on an out-of-wedlock pregnancy of Oscar-winner Natalie Portman. Huckabee said, “one of the things that’s troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, ‘Hey look, you know, we’re having children, we’re not married, but we’re having these children, and they’re doing just fine.’”

The Twitter world was on complete fire a couple of weeks ago as John Piper, senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist church in Minneapolis, Minnesota wrote, “Farewell, Rob Bell” in regards to Bell’s new book, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.” Despite the fact that the book has STILL not been released, Piper prematurely concluded that the message of the book was one of Universalism and subsequently disbarred Bell from Christianity. Others who HAVE read advance copies of the book say it is not a message of Universalism.

I believe both Huckabee and Piper believe they are sincerely trying to follow Christ but there is a disturbing similarityin how they view others who are “outside” of their version of the truth…even when their version of truth many times does not look like or align with the way, life, and teachings of Jesus. The way they convey their version of the truth comes across more like the judgmental and arrogant ways of the religious scholars and Pharisees than Jesus.It is a way of being quick to label, discount, minimize, belittle, and ostracize people when they are believed to be outside of their own perceived religious orthodoxy.

Let me be quick to say that I am far from perfect myself. I am not speaking from on high about these men. I am simply asking them…and all of us who claim to follow Christ…to use more wisdom and discernment before making off-handed comments about people or comments to people. Each one of us ought to be asking ourselves whether or not our words and actions come across more like the judgmental religious scholars who are quick to cast the first stone or as the non-judging and loving servant of the world…Jesus.

If we claim to follow the one who does not judge…we ought not be those who judge either. We have not been called to be the religious moral police who should arrest, convict, and make a lesson out of the wretched sinners of the world. We have not been asked to take the position on high to let the lowly heathens know they have trespassed against the law and the most high God. And we have not been asked to give up on a world that is going to “hell-in-a-hand-basket” because the sinners cannot measure up to “our religious standards.”

A follower of Christ ought not behave or be viewed as a religious neo-Pharisee who gets stirred up into a frenzy about the sinfulness and waywardness of the world and then who quickly picks up the condemning stone of judgment. Rather, a follower of Christ ought to be quick in grace and love, quick to develop relationships and walk beside people no matter who they are, and quick to pick up the self-sacrificial towel of Jesus and serve everyone- even the worst of the worst. Was that not who Jesus himself loved and served? Was it not those who had been cast out by society AND by the religious system? We, as followers of Christ, must realize that we are as much the unworthy sinners as anyone else and there is no room for self-righteousness, arrogance, or judgment.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why we in the Church are so afraid of extending love and grace to those whom we disagree with? Do you believe that God is going to punish you for extending love and grace to those “who don’t deserve it?” If that is the case then God ought to be mad at Jesus for doing the exact same thing! Or, has God made you the sole protector of “orthodoxy” and given you the responsibility of being his bulldog? I think Jesus was the embodiment of “orthodoxy” yet he still found a way to live in humility, grace, and love. Ought that not be our way as well? I wonder if God is all about us getting every single detail right and making people feel hated and worthless in the process…or is all about us giving grace even when we don’t completely agree with someone and then loving them despite who they are or what they have done. I don’t have to be right about every single detail…but I do have to love.

The truth is that the highest standard that Jesus gave us was to love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul and to love others as ourselves. That means EVERYONE! If Jesus was willing to risk extending love and grace to each of us who didn’t deserve it…are we not willing to risk extending love and grace to others as well?

Let us be the people who are not off-handed in our reaction and comments about others…but who walk in grace and love to demonstrate and teach the world the best and highest ways of Jesus. Let us be the kind of people who seek truth together but do it in a way that shows humility, grace, and love along the way.

8 thoughts on “let those without sin…”

Brandon, clearly the Scripture guides us on judging fellow believers in Romans 14. For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. However, I’m not sure Piper was judging Rob Bell, but calling in to question the message he is teaching in his book. I’ve read excerpts and I certainly won’t be casting any stones at Rob, but if the passages I’ve read are straight out of the book and I have no reason to believe they are not, I’m extremly concerned by Rob’s view of the Gospel that he is teaching. James 3:1 says “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” I don’t have to judge Rob, but at the very least I’m reading his writings with my eyes on God’s Word to see if they agree as we are instructed to do. I don’t like what I’m seeing thus far, but to be fair I haven’t followed Rob’s teaching outside watching a few of those Numa Videos years ago.

my article is not a defense of Ron Bell (as I have neither read nor listened to much of his teaching). the issue at hand is “how to extend grace and love” when someone believes something different than you or has a lifestyle that is different than yours. I am simply suggesting that a better way for the Christian is to be more like Jesus. Huckabee could have said, “I don’t know Ms. Portman so I would be Ill advised to make a comment on her lifestyle.”. Piper could have used discernment, had some patience, read the book, and then offer an explanation of his doctrinal differences….or just called Rob and talked to him about it. I am not trying to determine who is right or wrong…I am calling into question the quick to judge manner of each man. good to hear from you eric!

Brandon, I appreciate your views, but I find Huckabee’s comments to be correct. He did not necessarily demonize Ms. Portman, rather he addressed the state of our culture. Many children in this country are born out of wedlock and people look at someone like her, as successful as she is, and think that makes it okay. In the same way we glamorise celebrity divorces and charlie sheen’s drug addiction. I do not believe Huckabee intended to attack Ms. Portman, but rather to caution us to take a step back and realize this is not the way God intended the family to be. She may be quite capable of raising a child on her own, as well off as she is, but most single mothers are not so lucky.

thanks for the comment. I am not sure if you read the actual quote from Huckabee above:

Huckabee said, “one of the things that’s troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, ‘Hey look, you know, we’re having children, we’re not married, but we’re having these
children, and they’re doing just fine.’”

I am not sure from what perspective you believe his comment is “right.” from a Jesus perspective…what is “right” about it? complaining about the culture? focusing on Portman as the kingpin sinner? throwing a stone at others in Hollywood? this may be a “correct” response from the perspective of the Religious Right or Cultural Christianity or from some politically oriented group…but from the perspective of Jesus (and not to play the WWJD card) he wouldn’t have responded like Huckabee.

Jesus had PLENTY of opportunity to rail against the pagan Roman Empire, the way that empire oppressed people (especially the Jews), and the multitude of “sin” groups that he walked among…but he didn’t.

if we are to wear the label of Christ (and bear his cross)…we must walked as he walked and talk as he talked. and that does not look like using a young woman as an example of the larger cultural problems in our country.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how as the church in America, we’ve been socialized (one could possibly read ‘brainwashed’) to believe that unless we purify our culture by our political vote, approval, disapproval, petitions, circular emails, boycotts, etc. we, our families, and our children will suffer the wrath of God for putting up with a sub-christian culture. Of course the problem with that thinking is that there isn’t a single case in the new testament where followers of Christ either tried to shift a culture or were punished by God for not trying to shift a culture (and I hope we can all agree that the Roman culture at the time of Christ and the apostles was anything but christian…), and any cases in the old testament were at times when the Israelites were breaking covenant and law in a political theocracy (something God didn’t reestablish on earth after Jesus died).

We clearly have a responsibility to live our lives by Jesus’ standard and not the standard of the culture, but that’s a responsibility we bear on ourselves, not a responsibility we’ve been told to force on the world. We’ve been caught in a case of the church trying to do what’s easy instead of what’s right because it’s much easier to (1) show our faith by proving what everyone else is doing wrong on the outside instead of showing our faith by working on our inside, and (2) to falsely presume that if we ‘purify our culture’ we can just let life go on autopilot and coast to moral perfection instead of actually having to wrestle with our sinful desires and fight to live for Jesus.

Ultimately, in this light, casting judgment on the culture (as Huckabee) or on other followers (as Piper) isn’t only not part of the Kingdom, it’s part of what the Kingdom stands against…

Brandon, thank you for your reply. I regularly watch Huckabee’s show on Saturday nights and follow his interviews as much as possible, and I am familiar with this quote. You might say this makes me personally inclined to defend his views, but I prefer to think that I have a more intimate understanding of the intent of what he says.
Now, Jesus did say not to cast the first stone, but he also told the woman in adultery to leave her sin behind. You may disagree with the public forum Huckabee used to express his opinion, but when you’re a political figure, keeping your views hidden is nearly impossible.
Single parenthood is a problem in this country. It’s not one that the government can fix. Because of this, our spiritual leaders need to be vocal about what is right and wrong. Huckabee has a large audience and brings faith into the spotlight often, so I believe he fits into that category.
Jesus may not have thrown rocks at people, but he did call them out on their sin. Huckabee’s comments were not hateful. Our culture glorifies sin and, while we have to be loving, we have to be the voice that distinguishes between praise for those facing adversity and the sin that creates it.

Brandon Andress is the author of three books: Beauty in the Wreckage- Finding Peace in the Age of Outrage (2018), AND THEN THE END WILL COME! (2013), Unearthed– How Discovering the Kingdom of God Will Transform the Church and Change the World (2010).
He podcasts at Outside the Walls (Available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Stitcher) and VOICES (Available on iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher). Brandon writes for his popular blogs Brandon Andress and A Joyful Procession. He earned his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University and his BA in Psychology from Hanover College. He loves the outdoors, hiking, camping, and traveling.